The Maccabees reveal they considered using lasers to headline Latitude

Festival headliners tell NME they wanted their show to be 'authentically Maccabees'

The Maccabees have revealed to NME that they thought about using lasers for their headline show at Latitude festival last night (July 15).

Latitude was the first festival The Maccabees have headlined, and the band considered changing their show for the occasion.

Singer Orlando Weeks told NME: “It was tempting to bring some lasers with us. But, as the day approached, we realised that because it’s the first major headline show we’ve done, it was nice to make it as much of a Maccabees event as possible.”

Speaking backstage shortly before their performance, which marked bassist Rupert Jarvis’ 30th birthday, Weeks added: “After 14 years as a band, this is an opportunity to make headlining be as authentically ‘us’ as we can.”

Guitarist Felix White added one of the factors against making the show a full-on spectacle was their experience of using lasers when they headlined London arena Alexandra Palace.

White said: “You can understand the temptation of using lasers. But one of the biggest regrets of my life was forcing the rest of the band to use lasers at Alexandra Palace. It cost a fucking lot of money, and it just turned our show into a circus for three minutes. I learned my lesson from that.”

The guitarist added that fellow Latitude headliners The National, who headline today, were an inspiration for The Maccabees’ career.

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White said: “We love The National. They’ve set an imprint on how to take a band to a bigger scale in an authentic way. We’ve set set certain landmarks against what they’ve achieved. So to have our name next to theirs on the bill is a really cool place for us to reach.”

Admitting to feeling nervous before headlining, Weeks said: “I was feeling fine, but then I met an old friend who was nervous on my behalf. Now I feel quite nervous too. But I’ll be alright. On the day we found out we were headlining, we were told the rest of the bill. It’s such an honour to headline above acts like British Sea Power, Father John Misty and Beirut.”

Weeks added: “Knowing the rest of the day’s bill is so great made the run-up to today feel easier. But now that it’s here, it’s not helping with the nerves too much.” White added: “Headlining this far into our career feels very well-timed. We’ve got four albums, so we haven’t struggled to find songs for our 90 minutes.”

The singer paid tribute to Latitude as a festival, saying: “It’s music that’s our taste and it’s a great festival for getting lost in. You’ll always see things you won’t have come across before.”